“this obviously doesn’t apply to every game but fun is always more important than balance. balance serves fun. balance is not, by itself, fun. it’s entirely possible to balance all the fun out of a game.”
The mental and emotional hurdles of making your first board game:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2523310/nobody-ever-talks-about-mentalemotional-aspect-mak
The basics of dexterity games:
https://dailyworkerplacement.com/2020/10/16/dexterity-games-a-closer-look/
What things make board games less accessible for new players? A Twitter board game design discussion:
https://twitter.com/alleycatgames/status/1315652730464198656
Notes on game designer intentionality: how to make the game do what you want it to do:
https://twitter.com/KevinWilson42/status/1314736784669126656
Pros and cons to self-publishing vs. working with a publisher:
https://stonemaiergames.com/self-publishing-vs-working-with-a-publisher-ks-lesson-275/
How to become a mass-market game inventor:
https://mojo-nation.com/richard-c-levy-ronald-o-weingartner-want-game-inventor/
Tips for designing highly thematic games: from starting theme-first, to making a game more thematic, to playtesting with thematic elements in mind, to integrating theme and mechanics, and more:
http://www.weirdgiraffegames.com/carla/wordpress/2020/09/23/highly-thematic-games-with-omari-akil/
A thorough but succinct overview of what rulebooks should achieve, and how to write one effectively:
https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2020/10/1/what-makes-a-good-rule-book
“What may seem like a fantastic idea in your head, whether it be simply an idea or a fully worked-out game, can turn out to be clunky, boring and simply not work when you get put it on paper. Prototyping fast and ultimately failing fast is therefore critical to successful game design.”
